Not so complicated
by KDHeart
Summary: "You know…" Jessie finally started. "When she said she almost became my step-mother…" "Not quite what you had in mind, is it?" "Not really, no," she said. [background Estella/Jade, some father-daughter time]


At some point during my latest rewatch of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, I ended up shipping Estella/Jade.  
They're not really at the forefront of this fic, but I'll play around with them in later stories. This is mostly father-daughter time.

This was initially supposed to be about Jessie and the boys, but it didn't feel right. So I let her have a talk with her dad. It was something I didn't realize I needed until I started writing it.

**Not that complicated**

Jessie and her father sat awkwardly on the old fashioned couch in the small guest room. Neither of them spoke, though each would occasionally take a deep breath and turn to the other, before their shoulders slumped and they thought better of it.

They'd been at it for the better part of an hour - it couldn't have been longer, or someone would have come usher them to the big event by now.

She was absently picking at an ornamental stitch on her skirt, wondering how much tension it would take to unravel it. It was a delicate embroidery, but the stitching was more resilient than it looked. It was probably a metaphor for something, but she didn't dare go down that road.

"You know…" Jessie finally started. "When she said she almost became my step-mother…"

"Not quite what you had in mind, is it?"

"Not really, no," she said.

There was a bit more silence. Race nervously tugged at the knot of his tie, even if his daughter had already made sure it was perfect.

"Does it bother you?" he eventually asked.

Jessie shrugged.

"Does it bother _you?" _

It was his turn to shrug.

"It's just…" she started.

Race sighed. "It's Jade, I know."

"She's a lot of trouble," Jessie said.

"And now she's your mother's problem."

For the first time in what felt like hours, her father smiled. It widened into a grin and Jessie worried for a split second that he might do something reckless, but then he added, "She knows full well what she's getting into."

"You know, you're taking this a lot better than I expected," Jessie said, turning to face him properly.

"I was more worried about how you were going to take it." He gave a nervous laugh.

"She's nice, once you get past the mercenary, treasure hunter exterior. And we're all adults here, so it doesn't really affect me - it's not like she has me under her control now."

"So it's all… cool?"

Jessie grinned mischievously. "I am going to have a lot of fun calling her _madrastra _."

Race chuckled. "Do it after they throw the bouquets - I wanna see the look on her face!"

"Mom will say you're a bad influence."

"That's not right - she had you longer," he pointed out in mock offense.

A knock on the door interrupted them.

Without waiting for an invitation, the door opened under Jonny's weight, who was leaning on it, carefully not entering the room. Hadji was standing just behind him, looking slightly concerned.

"They're about to begin and we're missing a Maiden of Honor and Best Man," Jonny said. He made a show of being nonchalant, which meant he was probably worried, too.

"We'll be there in five. I still need to mentally prepare myself to go out in public in a skirt," she joked.

"Are you sure you're fine?" Hadji asked, cutting right to the chase.

Jessie looked at her father and sighed. "Yeah, it's fine. We've just spent the last half hour not discussing the fact that my Mom is marrying my Dad's ex, but then we eventually did and realized it's not a big deal."

Jonny nodded his understanding.

"Then we should get going, before Jade decides to replace you with us," Hadji prompted.

"Yeah, for now, she just wants us to stand around, looking pretty, but remember your Mom had to talk her out of making us the designated flower girls. Grandpa seems to like her well enough to have the wedding here, but I think he'll outright adopt her if she manages to pull that off!" Jonny shuddered.

Race pushed himself up off the couch and dismissed the boys with a wave. "We'll be there in five. Don't worry, we won't make things even more complicated," he assured them.

"I don't make a pretty maiden of honor," Jonny remarked and they shared a smile.

With a careful hand on his shoulder, Hadji guided him away from the door. "We'll tell them you'll be there in a moment."

"Thanks, Hadji," Race said.

They left the door open.

"Do I look presentable?" she asked. She hadn't looked in a mirror since she got dressed up hours ago, but she put more stock in her Dad's approval at the moment, than in what the glass told her.

Race nodded and motioned her to come closer. He hugged her tight and she hugged him back. It was the kind of hug she missed when she was little and he still tried to make up for.

"I guess we really should go welcome Jade into the family, now," he said, letting her go. "This is only making everything more complicated."

"Not that complicated," Jessie said. "And she's been part of the family for ages, this is just making it official."

"I guess."

She grabbed his hand. "Come on, we're late."

He followed her out the door.

"You know, this really is the first time I've seen you in a skirt since that Christmas peagent in fourth grade."

"Of course Mom sent you pics of the snowflake dress!" she muttered. "It was itchy, and uncomfortable, and I swore never to wear dresses again after I got out of it!"

Race chuckled. "Your Mom should appreciate your sacrifice and cut us some slack for being a little late."

She gave him a smug smile. "I wasn't going to let Jade outshine us."


End file.
